Pigeons from Poppie & Gibbie

A few weeks before his birthday, Jack decided that he had the "perfect present" in mind and said that he must call Poppie to tell him about it.  My kids think that their Poppie hung the moon and that he will grant just about any request that they might have.  They don't asking him for much, but I have an idea that they know that he is their ace in hole if they ever need it.  So... I didn't know what Jack was going to ask his Poppie for when he told me that he needed to call him with his birthday wish that only Poppie could grant.  A motorcycle?  A cell-phone?  A trip to Disney World?  :)  When I heard him on the phone with my dad, I had to smile.  Jack had decided that he wanted a pigeon... 

There's a story behind that.

My dad raises pigeons.  Rolling pigeons - not the overpass-residing kind of pigeons.  When they are released from their coop, they fly high into the air and turn flips for several feet then fly high in the air again and flip again... and on and on.  They are neat to watch and my mom & dad get a lot of enjoyment from them.  Dad's love of pigeons started 40+ years ago when he, as an 11 year old boy, started raising pigeons.  Throughout my childhood, he had pigeons off and on, and when I was a little girl I even had my own pet pigeon.  Her name was Lottie, and I loved her.  My brother and I even spent the night in our backyard with our pet pigeons one night and Lottie slept in my sleeping bag with me.  No - she did not die in the process.  Yes - there was poop involved.  Gross to think of now, I know.  But at the time, I was sure that Lottie and I were going to grow old together and that she would be the most brilliant pigeon on earth.  (She was a good Roller, right Dad?  Until...)  Anyway, Jack likes to look at Poppie's birds when we visit his house, and a few weeks ago decided that he wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps.  After coercing his own daddy and doing several acts to prove that he is in fact responsible, Corey gave the idea of Jack getting birds his thumb's up.  

On the day of Jack's birthday party, my mom & dad showed up with not only 1 but 2 pigeons.  Jack had a name picked out for just one pigeon, but that quickly changed upon the arrival of the pair.  Now, Jack is the proud owner of Romeo & Juliet.  And from what we understand, he might also be the proud owner of some baby pigeons soon too.  Juliet may be with child - or is that "with egg"?  I am sure there will be lots of updates on that, if that is the case.

Since the night that he received them, Jack has spent lots of time looking at his birds, feeding them, watering them, rearranging the items in their cage, and checking on them.  So far, he loves them, and he is doing a good job of following in his Poppie's footsteps. 

Thank you Mom & Dad for the pigeons.  They made my little boy's day!